For many years,
I have
regarded the
literary voice
of Dixon Hearne
as one of the
most
distinguished
voices of the
American South.
After reading
Plainspeak:
New and Selected
Poems, however,
I quickly
realized that
his poetic voice
is equally
effective in
capturing the
very essence of
the American
West: its native
peoples, flora,
fauna, and
starkly
beautiful
landscapes. In
this remarkable
collection of
poetry, Hearne
writes of the
Apache, Crow,
Lakota, Anasazi,
Caddo, and the
"crying voices"
of the Choctaw
on the Trail of
Tears. He writes
of the wind
whispering
through the
skulls of
countless
buffalo
slaughtered
almost to
extinction. If
the vast
landscapes of
the West could
speak, they
would do so in a
spare, highly
skilled, and
powerfully
evocative voice
like Hearne's.
—Larry D.
Thomas, Member,
Texas Institute
of Letters, 2008
Texas Poet
Laureate

Delta Flats: Storiesin the Key of Blues and Hope

From the piney
hills of northern
Louisiana
to the raw and decadent
streets of New Orleans,
Delta Flats: Stories in
the Key of Blues and
Hope records the daily
lives of its characters
with a poetic rhythm
that evokes the ebb and
flow of life itself.
Dixon Hearne is a master
at capturing the “blue
reality” of life,
moments―both large and
small―that define the
hot days and long nights
of the deep south. With
language as gritty as
the blues and as
beautiful as a gospel
choir, he juxtaposes the
downtrodden with the
hopeful and the darkness
with the light and plays
out each story with
deft, lyrical
descriptions that make
the reader want to laugh
and sing with joy.

From Tickfaw
to Shongaloo
is a comic
Southern tale
told in the
first person by
Raylene, a local
gossip in little
Stokely,
Louisiana. Bert
Dilly the
postmaster (we
learn, has been
spreading town
gossip like
everyone else),
fueled by his
habit of being a
little too
involved with
the local mail
(opened or not).
A disgruntled
maiden lady
writes a
scathing letter
of complaint,
which is
reported to the
stat postmaster,
and Bert’s
brother, J.T.,
accuses Bert of
mental
incompetence (he
wants the family
land). Bert is
replaced until
the charges can
be taken up by a
federal court in
Baton Rouge.

Most of the town
rallies around
Bert, but the
hearing devolves
into a kangaroo
court, turning
citizens against
each other,
egged on by a
crooked lawyer
who crumbles
when the whole
matter blows up
in his face,
through his own
arrogance and
igorance of
certain facts
(crazy as they
were). After
three days of
ridiculous
testimony and
unreliable
evidence, the
judge must make
his landmark
decision about
Bert, the mail,
and gossip in
Stokely,
Louisiana—where
the townsfolk
can hardly wait
to exchange
their own
versions of
honest truth.

"My
travels throughout the
United States have left an
indelible mark on my
perceptions about the eternal connection between
environment and human
behavior.
Native Voices, Native Lands
is a collection of poetry
and short fiction exploring
people and places in the
American landscape
–particularly the American
South, Midwest, and
Southwest. Through words and
images I hope to capture
some of these salient
features and spiritual
connections – leaving my own
literary footprints in the
sands of American thought
and culture."

—Dixon
Hearne

"Skulls" from Native
Voices, Native Lands,
was named Finalist for the
2014 Spur Awards.

A
collection of thirty-four new
stories, resonating with the
voices of laughter and human
struggle. Tales of
discrimination and comeuppances,
love and connections, preachin’
and prayin’, and facing choices
along life’s journey.

If there is
one universal impulse that
drives the human spirit, it is
celebration. It cuts across all
ages, cultures, and
nationalities. It reflects in
great part who we are. Our
calendars are crowded with dates
set aside to revel, commemorate
– even atone. We yearn to
express who we are
collec­tively, to pause from the
drone of our daily lives to
share special times with friends
and loved ones, days we commonly
refer to as “holidays.”

The word
“holiday” derives from holy day,
refer­ring to any day set aside
for religious observance.
Although many holidays have
re­mained linked to world faiths
and religion, we have added a
number of secular holidays to
our calendars over the
centu­ries. Most nations, in
fact, pause to pay tribute to
traditions and significant
events in their history.

The holiday
stories, poetry, and memoirs in
this book speak to the human
heart, make us laugh, and remind
us of the importance of
fellowship and sharing. From
poems of New Year’s revelry to
tales of Christmas, readers will
be treated to a veritable
cornucopia of images gathered
from the holiday spirits of the
writers included in this
collection.

We hope you
enjoy our “quilt
of holidays.

Woodstock
Revisited:

50 Far Out, Groovy, Peace-Loving,
Flashback-Inducing Stories From Those Who Were There

Dixon Hearne is one of fifty
authors selected to appear in
Woodstock
Revisited: 50 Far Out, Groovy,
Peace-Loving, Flashback-Inducing
Stories From Those Who Were
There.

Dixon Hearne is a contributing
author, as well as the editor of
a wonderful new collection of
short stories and memoir about
Thanksgiving and Christmas, from
writers all over the United
States, Canada, and abroad. The
stories range from humor to
heartfelt moments to family
traditions.

Teacakes
and Afternoon Tales:
New Stories
from Mississippi

Dixon
Hearne is a contributing author, as well as a co-editor of
GCWA's anthologyTeacakes and Afternoon
Tales: New Stories from Mississippi

Sweet Tea and Afternoon
Tales:New Stories from the South

Dixon Hearne
is co-editor of GCWA's anthologySweet Tea
and Afternoon Tales: New Stories
from the South.